Household Food Security in the United States, 2008...iv Household Food Security in the United States, 2008 / ERR-83 Economic Research Service/USDA households (1.3 percent of households

Food Assistance & Nutrition Research Program

Household Food Security in the United States, 2008

Measuring Food Security in the United States

United StatesDepartment ofAgriculture

Economic ResearchService

EconomicResearchReportNumber 83

November 2009

Mark NordMargaret AndrewsSteven Carlson

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1. Food security—United States—Statistics.2. Food relief—United States—Statistics.3. Food supply—United States--Statistics.4. Food consumption—United States—Statistics.5. Low-income consumers—United States—Statistics.6. Hunger—United States—Statistics.

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A Report from the Economic Research Service

Abstract

Eighty-fi ve percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2008, meaning that they had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (14.6 percent) were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 5.7 percent with very low food security—meaning that the food intake of one or more household members was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because the household lacked money and other resources for food. Prevalence rates of food insecurity and very low food secu-rity were up from 11.1 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, in 2007, and were the highest recorded since 1995, when the fi rst national food security survey was conducted. The typical food-secure household spent 31 percent more on food than the typical food-insecure household of the same size and household composition. Fifty-fi ve percent of all food-inse-cure households participated in one or more of the three largest Federal food and nutrition assistance programs during the month prior to the 2008 survey.

Keywords: Food security, food insecurity, food spending, food pantry, soup kitchen, emergency kitchen, material well-being, Food Stamp Program, SNAP, National School Lunch Program, WIC

About the Authors

Mark Nord and Margaret Andrews are in the Food Economics Division, Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nord is a sociologist and Andrews an econo-mist in the Food Assistance Branch. Steven Carlson is Director of the Offi ce of Research and Analysis, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Laurian Unnevehr, Elise Golan, and Mark Prell of ERS, USDA, for their reviews of the report. Thanks also go to our editor, Priscilla Smith, and to Wynnice Pointer-Napper for graphic layout and design.

Mark Nord, [email protected] Andrews, [email protected] Steven Carlson

Household Food Security in the United States, 2008

Economic Research Report Number 83

November 2009

iiHousehold Food Security in the United States, 2008 / ERR-83

Economic Research Service/USDA

.Contents

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Household Food Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Prevalence of Food Insecurity—National Conditions and Trends . . . . . . 4 Prevalence of Food Insecurity—Conditions and Trends by Selected Household Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Food Insecurity in Low-Income Households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Number of Persons, by Household Food Security Status and Selected Household Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Prevalence of Food Insecurity by State. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Household Spending on Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Food Expenditures, by Selected Household Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . 23 Food Expenditures and Household Food Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Use of Federal and Community Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Food Security and Food Spending of Households That Received Food and Nutrition Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Participation in Federal Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs by Food-Insecure Households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Use of Food Pantries and Emergency Kitchens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Use of Food Pantries and Emergency Kitchens, by Food Security Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Use of Food Pantries, by Selected Household Characteristics . . . . . . . . 33 Combined Use of Federal and Community Food and Nutrition Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Appendix A—Household Responses to Questions in the Food Security Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Frequency of Occurrence of Behaviors, Experiences, and Conditions That Indicate Food Insecurity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Monthly and Daily Occurrence of Food-Insecure Conditions . . . . . . . . 46

Appendix B—Background on the U.S. Food Security Measurement Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Appendix C—USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Appendix D—Food Security During 30 Days Prior to the Food Security Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

iiiHousehold Food Security in the United States, 2008 / ERR-83


Summary

Most U.S. households have consistent, dependable access to enough food for active, healthy living—they are food secure. But a minority of American households experience food insecurity at times during the year, meaning that their access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) monitors the extent and severity of food insecurity in U.S. households through an annual, nation-ally representative survey and has published statistical reports on household food security in the United States for each year since 1995. This report pres-ents statistics on households’ food security, food expenditures, and use of food and nutrition assistance programs in 2008.

What Is the Issue?

USDA’s domestic food and nutrition assistance programs increase food security by providing low-income households access to food, a healthful diet, and nutrition education. Reliable monitoring of food security contributes to the effective operation of these programs as well as private food assistance programs and other government initiatives aimed at reducing food insecurity. This annual food security report provides statistics that guide planning for Federal, State, and community food assistance programs.

What Did the Study Find?

In 2008, 85.4 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the year. Food-secure households had consistent access to enough food for active healthy lives for all household members at all times during the year. The remaining 14.6 percent (17 million households) were food insecure. These households, at some time during the year, had diffi culty providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources. The prevalence of food insecurity was up from 11.1 percent (13 million households) in 2007 and was the highest observed since nationally representative food security surveys were initiated in 1995.

About one-third of food-insecure households (6.7 million households, or 5.7 percent of all U.S. households) had very low food security, up from 4.7 million households (4.1 percent) in 2007, and the highest level observed since nationally representative food security surveys were initiated in 1995. In households with very low food security, the food intake of some house-hold members was reduced, and their normal eating patterns were disrupted because of the household’s food insecurity. The other two-thirds of food-insecure households obtained enough food to avoid substantial disruptions in eating patterns and food intake, using a variety of coping strategies, such as eating less varied diets, participating in Federal food and nutrition assistance programs, or obtaining emergency food from community food pantries or emergency kitchens.

Even when resources are inadequate to provide food for the entire family, children are usually shielded from the disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake that characterize very low food security. However, children as well as adults experienced instances of very low food security in 506,000

ivHousehold Food Security in the United States, 2008 / ERR-83


households (1.3 percent of households with children) in 2008, up from 323,000 households (0.8 percent of households with children) in 2007.

On a given day, the number of households with very low food security was a small fraction of the number that experienced this condition “at some time during the year.” Typically, households classifi ed as having very low food security experienced the condition in 7 or 8 months of the year, for a few days in each of those months. On an average day in late November or early December, 2008, for example, an estimated 1.1 million to 1.4 million households (0.9-1.2 percent of all U.S. households) had members who experienced very low food security, and children experienced these condi-tions in 86,000 to 111,000 households (0.22 to 0.28 percent of all U.S. households with children).

The prevalence of food insecurity varied considerably among different types of households. Rates of food insecurity were substantially higher than the national average for households with incomes near or below the Federal poverty line, households with children headed by single women or single men, and Black and Hispanic households. Food insecurity was more common in large cities and rural areas than in suburban areas and other outlying areas around large cities. Regionally, food insecurity was most prevalent in the South, interme-diate in the Midwest and West, and least prevalent in the Northeast.

Food-secure households spent more for food than food-insecure households. In 2008, the median U.S. household spent $43.75 per person for food each week—about 14 percent more than the cost of USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan (a low-cost food “market basket” that meets dietary standards, taking into account household size and the age and gender of household members). The median food-secure household spent 18 percent more than the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan, while the median food-insecure household spent 10 percent less than the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan.

Some food-insecure households turn to Federal food and nutrition assis-tance programs or emergency food providers in their communities when they are unable to obtain enough food. Fifty-fi ve percent of the food-insecure households surveyed in 2008 said that in the previous month they had participated in one or more of the three largest Federal food and nutrition assistance programs—the National School Lunch Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, the new name for the Food Stamp Program), and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). About 20 percent of food-insecure households obtained emergency food from a food pantry at some time during the year, and 2.6 percent ate one or more meals at an emergency kitchen in their community.

How Was the Study Conducted?

Data for the ERS food security reports come from an annual survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau as a supplement to the monthly Current Population Survey. USDA sponsors the annual survey, and USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) compiles and analyzes the responses. The 2008 food security survey covered about 44,000 households comprising a representative sample of the U.S. civilian population of 118

vHousehold Food Security in the United States, 2008 / ERR-83


million households. The food security survey asked one adult respondent in each household a series of questions about experiences and behaviors that indicate food insecurity. The food security status of the household was assessed based on the number of food-insecure conditions reported (such as being unable to afford balanced meals, cutting the size of meals because of too little money for food, or being hungry because of too little money for food). Households with very low food security among children were identifi ed by responses to a subset of questions about the conditions and experiences of children. Survey respondents also reported the amounts their households had spent on food and whether they had used public or private food and nutrition assistance programs.

1Household Food Security in the United States, 2008 / ERR-83


Introduction

Since 1995, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has collected infor-mation annually on food spending, food access and adequacy, and sources of food assistance for the U.S. population. The information is collected in an annual food security survey, conducted as a supplement to the nationally representative Current Population Survey (CPS). A major impetus for this data collection is to provide information about the prevalence and severity of food insecurity in U.S. households. Previous USDA reports have summarized the fi ndings of this research for each year from 1995 to 2007. (See appendix B for background on the development of the food security measures and a list of the reports.)

This report updates the national statistics on food security, household food spending, the use of Federal and community food and nutrition assistance by food-insecure households, and the numbers of households using community food pantries and emergency kitchens, using data collected in the December 2008 food security survey. The report includes information on the food secu-rity of households over the course of the year as well as during the 30-day period prior to the survey—from mid-November to mid-December 2008.

Unless otherwise noted, statistical differences described in the text are signif-icant at the 90-percent confi dence level.1 1Standard errors of estimates, except

for State-level estimates, are based on a design factor of 1.6 due to the com-plex sampling design of the CPS. That is, the standard error of an estimated proportion is calculated as the square root of [P x Q x 1.6 / N], where P is the estimated proportion, Q is 1-P, and N is the unweighted number of households in the denominator. The design factor of 1.6 is consistent with estimates based on more complex balanced repeated replication (BRR) methods (Cohen et al., 2002b; Hamilton et al., 1997b). Standard errors of State-level esti-mates were calculated using jackknife replication methods with “month in sample” groups considered as separate, independent samples (see Nord et al., 1999). Beginning with the report on the 2007 data, the jackknife methods have aggregated data from pairs of month-in-sample groups comprising largely the same households (i.e., group 1 in one year and group 5 in the following year) to account for the nonindependence of these samples.



Household Food Security

Food security—access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life—is one of several conditions necessary for a population to be healthy and well nourished. This section provides information on food secu-rity and food insecurity in U.S. households based on the December 2008 food security survey—the 14th annual survey in the Nation’s food security monitoring system.

Methods

The statistics presented in this report are based on data collected in a supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted in December 2008. The CPS currently includes about 53,000 households and is representative, at State and national levels, of the civilian, nonin-stitutionalized population of the United States. About 44,000 households completed the food security supplement in December 2008; the remainder were unable or unwilling to do so. Weighting factors were calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau so that, when properly weighted, responses to the food security questions are representative at State and national levels.2 All statis-tics in this report were calculated by applying the food security supplement weights to responses of the surveyed households to obtain nationally repre-sentative prevalence estimates.

The household food security statistics presented in this report are based on a measure of food security calculated from responses to a series of questions about conditions and behaviors known to characterize households having diffi culty meeting basic food needs.3 Each question asks whether the condi-tion or behavior occurred at any time during the previous 12 months and specifi es a lack of money or other resources to obtain food as the reason. Voluntary fasting or dieting to lose weight are thereby excluded from the measure. The series includes 10 questions about food conditions of the household as a whole and of adults in the household and, if there are children present in the household, an additional 8 questions about their food condi-tions (see box, “Questions Used To Assess the Food Security of Households in the CPS Food Security Survey,” p. 3). Responses to the 18 food security questions are reported in appendix A.

The food security status of each interviewed household is determined by the number of food-insecure conditions and behaviors the household reports. Households are classifi ed as food secure if they report no food-insecure conditions or if they report only one or two food-insecure condi-tions. (Food-insecure conditions are indicated by responses of “often” or “sometimes” to questions 1-3 and 11-13; “almost every month” or “some months but not every month” to questions 5, 10, and 17; and “yes” to the other questions.) They are classifi ed as food insecure if they report three or more food-insecure conditions.4

2Reweighting of the Supplement takes into consideration income and other information about households that completed the labor-force portion of the survey but not the Food Security Supplement. This corrects, to some extent, biases that could result from nonresponse to the Supplement by households that completed only the labor-force part of the survey.

3The methods used to measure the extent and severity of food insecurity have been described in several places (Hamilton et al., 1997a, 1997b; An-drews et al., 1998; Bickel et al.,1998; Carlson et al., 1999; Bickel et al., 2000; Nord and Bickel, 2002). See also the recent assessment of the measurement methods by a panel of the Committee on National Statistics (National Re-search Council, 2006). Further details on the development of the measure are provided in appendix B.

4To reduce the burden on higher income respondents, households with incomes above 185 percent of the Fed-eral poverty line who give no indication of food-access problems on either of two preliminary screening questions are deemed to be food secure and are not asked the questions in the food security assessment series. The preliminary screening questions are as follows:

• People do different things when they are running out of money for food in order to make their food or their food money go further. In the last 12 months, since December of last year, did you ever run short of money and try to make your food or your food money go further?

• Which of these statements best describes the food eaten in your household—enough of the kinds of food we want to eat, enough but not always the kinds of food we want to eat, sometimes not enough to eat, or often not enough to eat?



1. “We worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

2. “The food that we bought just didn’t last and we didn’t have money to get more.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

3. “We couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

4. In the last 12 months, did you or other adults in the household ever cut the size of your meals or skip meals because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)

5. (If yes to question 4) How often did this happen—almost every month, some months but not every month, or in only 1 or 2 months?

6. In the last 12 months, did you ever eat less than you felt you should because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)

7. In the last 12 months, were you ever hungry, but didn’t eat, because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)

8. In the last 12 months, did you lose weight because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)

9. In the last 12 months did you or other adults in your household ever not eat for a whole day because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)


(Questions 11-18 were asked only if the household included children age 0-18)

11. “We relied on only a few kinds of low-cost food to feed our children because we were running out of money to buy food.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

12. “We couldn’t feed our children a balanced meal, because we couldn’t afford that.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

13. “The children were not eating enough because we just couldn’t afford enough food.” Was that often, sometimes, or never true for you in the last 12 months?

14. In the last 12 months, did you ever cut the size of any of the children’s meals because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)

15. In the last 12 months, were the children ever hungry but you just couldn’t afford more food? (Yes/No)

16. In the last 12 months, did any of the children ever skip a meal because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)


18 In the last 12 months did any of the children ever not eat for a whole day because there wasn’t enough money for food? (Yes/No)

Questions Used To Assess the Food Security of Households in the CPS Food Security Survey



Food-insecure households are further classifi ed as having either low food security or very low food security.5 The very low food security category iden-tifi es households in which food intake of one or more members was reduced and eating patterns disrupted because of insuffi cient money and other resources for food. Households without children are classifi ed as having very low food security if they report six or more food-insecure conditions. Households with children are classifi ed as having very low food security if they report eight or more food-insecure conditions, including conditions among both adults and children. Households with children are further clas-sifi ed as having very low food security among children if they report fi ve or more food-insecure conditions among the children (that is, if they respond affi rmatively to fi ve or more of questions 11-18).

Households classifi ed as having low food security have reported multiple indications of food access problems, but typically have reported few, if any, indications of reduced food intake. Households classifi ed as having very low food security have reported multiple indications of reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns due to inadequate resources for food. In most, but not all households with very low food security, the survey respondent reported that he or she was hungry at some time during the year but did not eat because there was not enough money for food.

Prevalence of Food Insecurity—National Conditions and Trends

About 85 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the entire year 2008 (fi g. 1, table 1A). In concept, “food secure” means that all household members had access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life.6 The remaining 17 million U.S. households (14.6 percent of all households) were food insecure at some time during the year. That is, they were, at times, uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food for all household members because they had insuffi cient money and other resources for food. About two-thirds of food-insecure households avoided substantial reductions or disruptions in food intake, in many cases by relying on a few basic foods and reducing variety in their diets. But 6.7 million households

5Prior to 2006, households with low food security were described as “food insecure without hunger” and households with very low food security were described as “food insecure with hunger.” Changes in these descriptions were made in 2006 at the recommen-dation of the Committee on National Statistics (National Research Council, 2006), in order to distinguish the physi-ological state of hunger from indica-tors of food availability. The criteria by which households were classifi ed remained unchanged. See box “What Is ‘Very Low Food Security’?,” p. 5, for further information on these changes.

6Food security and insecurity, as measured for this report, are based on respondent perceptions of whether the household was able to obtain enough food to meet their needs. The measure does not specifi cally address whether the household’s food intake was suffi -cient for active, healthy lives. Nonethe-less, research based on other surveys has found food security, measured as in this report, to be associated with health, nutrition, and children’s development in a manner that generally supports the conceptualized link with suffi ciency for active, healthy lives (see, for example, Nord and Kantor, 2006; Nord and Hop-wood, 2007; Nord, 2009).

Figure 1

U.S. households by food security status, 2008

Source: Calculated by ERS using data from the December 2008 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement.

Food-insecure households—14.6%

Households with low foodsecurity—8.9%

Households with very low foodsecurity—5.7%

Food-secure households—85.4%



(5.7 percent of all U.S. households) had very low food security—that is, they were food insecure to the extent that eating patterns of one or more house-hold members were disrupted and their food intake reduced, at least some time during the year, because they couldn’t afford enough food.

Children in most food-insecure households—even in most households with very low food security—were protected from reductions in food intake. However in about 506,000 households (1.3 percent of households with chil-dren), one or more children were also subject to reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns at some time during the year (table 1B). In some households with very low food security among children, only older children

The defi ning characteristic of “very low food security” (described in Household Food Security reports prior to 2006 as “food insecurity with hunger”) is that, at times during the year, the food intake of household members was reduced and their normal eating patterns were disrupted because the household lacked money and other resources for food. Very low food security can be characterized in terms of the conditions that households in this category reported in the food security survey. In the 2008 survey, households classifi ed as having very low food security (representing an estimated 6.7 million households nationwide) reported the following specifi c conditions:

• 98 percent reported having worried that their food would run out before they got money to buy more.

• 96 percent reported that the food they bought just did not last and they did not have money to get more.

• 94 percent reported that they could not afford to eat balanced meals.

• 97 percent reported that an adult had cut the size of meals or skipped meals because there was not enough money for food.

• 88 percent reported that this had occurred in 3 or more months.

• In 93 percent, respondents reported that they had eaten less than they felt they should because there was not enough money for food.

• In 66 percent, respondents reported that they had been hungry but did not eat because they could not afford enough food.

• In 47 percent, respondents reported having lost weight because they did not have enough money for food.

• 27 percent reported that an adult did not eat for a whole day because there was not enough money for food.

• 19 percent reported that this had occurred in 3 or more months.

• All of those without children reported at least 6 of these conditions, and 67 percent reported 7 or more. (Conditions in households with children were similar, but the reported food-insecure conditions of both adults and children were taken into account.)

What Is “Very Low Food Security”?

Households reporting each indicator of food insecurity, by food security status, 2008


Percent

Food secure

Low food security

Very low food security

Did not eat whole day, 3+ months

Did not eat whole day

Lost weight

Hungry but did not eat

Ate less than felt should

Cut or skipped meal in 3+ months

Cut size of meal or skipped meal

Could not afford balanced meal

Food bought did not last

Worried food would run out

0 20 40 60 80 100



Table 1A

Households and individuals by food security status of household, 1998-2008

Food insecure

With low With very lowUnit Total1 Food secure All food security food security

1,000 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent

Households:2008 117,565 100,416 85.4 17,149 14.6 10,426 8.9 6,723 5.72007 117,100 104,089 88.9 13,011 11.1 8,262 7.0 4,749 4.12006 115,609 102,961 89.1 12,648 10.9 8,031 6.9 4,617 4.02005 114,437 101,851 89.0 12,586 11.0 8,158 7.1 4,428 3.92004 112,967 99,473 88.1 13,494 11.9 9,045 8.0 4,449 3.92003 112,214 99,631 88.8 12,583 11.2 8,663 7.7 3,920 3.52002 108,601 96,543 88.9 12,058 11.1 8,259 7.6 3,799 3.52001 107,824 96,303 89.3 11,521 10.7 8,010 7.4 3,511 3.32000 106,043 94,942 89.5 11,101 10.5 7,786 7.3 3,315 3.11999 104,684 94,154 89.9 10,529 10.1 7,420 7.1 3,109 3.01998 103,309 91,121 88.2 12,188 11.8 8,353 8.1 3,835 3.7

All individuals (by food security status of household):2

2008 299,567 250,459 83.6 49,108 16.4 31,824 10.6 17,284 5.82007 297,042 260,813 87.8 36,229 12.2 24,287 8.2 11,942 4.02006 294,010 258,495 87.9 35,515 12.1 24,395 8.3 11,120 3.82005 291,501 256,373 87.9 35,128 12.1 24,349 8.4 10,779 3.72004 288,603 250,407 86.8 38,196 13.2 27,535 9.5 10,661 3.72003 286,410 250,155 87.3 36,255 12.7 26,622 9.3 9,633 3.42002 279,035 244,133 87.5 34,902 12.5 25,517 9.1 9,385 3.42001 276,661 243,019 87.8 33,642 12.2 24,628 8.9 9,014 3.32000 273,685 240,454 87.9 33,231 12.1 24,708 9.0 8,523 3.11999 270,318 239,304 88.5 31,015 11.5 23,237 8.6 7,779 2.91998 268,366 232,219 86.5 36,147 13.5 26,290 9.8 9,857 3.7

Adults (by food security status of household):2

2008 225,461 193,026 85.6 32,435 14.4 20,320 9.0 12,115 5.42007 223,467 199,672 89.4 23,795 10.6 15,602 7.0 8,193 3.72006 220,423 197,536 89.6 22,887 10.4 15,193 6.9 7,694 3.52005 217,897 195,172 89.6 22,725 10.4 15,146 7.0 7,579 3.52004 215,564 191,236 88.7 24,328 11.3 16,946 7.9 7,382 3.42003 213,441 190,451 89.2 22,990 10.8 16,358 7.7 6,632 3.12002 206,493 184,718 89.5 21,775 10.5 15,486 7.5 6,289 3.02001 204,340 183,398 89.8 20,942 10.2 14,879 7.3 6,063 3.02000 201,922 181,586 89.9 20,336 10.1 14,763 7.3 5,573 2.81999 198,900 179,960 90.5 18,941 9.5 13,869 7.0 5,072 2.51998 197,084 174,964 88.8 22,120 11.2 15,632 7.9 6,488 3.3

1Totals exclude households whose food security status is unknown because they did not give a valid response to any of the questions in the food security scale. In 2008, these represented 366,000 households (0.3 percent of all households.)2The food security survey measures food security status at the household level. Not all individuals residing in food-insecure households were directly affected by the households’ food insecurity. Similarly, not all individuals in households classifi ed as having very low food security were subject to the reductions in food intake and disruptions in eating patterns that characterize this condition. Young children, in particular, are often protected from effects of the households’ food insecurity.

Sources: Calculated by ERS using data from the August 1998, April 1999, September 2000, December 2001, December 2002, December 2003, December 2004, December 2005, December 2006, December 2007, and December 2008 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplements.



may have been subjected to the more severe effects of food insecurity, while younger children were protected from those effects.

When interpreting food security statistics in this report (except for appendix D), it is important to keep in mind that households were classifi ed as having low or very low food security if they experienced the condition at any time during the previous 12 months. The prevalence of these conditions on any given day is far below the corresponding annual prevalence. For example, the prevalence of very low food security on an average day during the 30-day period prior to the December 2008 survey is estimated to have been between 0.9 and 1.2 percent of households (1.1 to 1.4 million households; see box “When Food Insecurity Occurs in U.S. Households, It Is Usually Recurrent But Not Chronic,” p. 9). Children, as well as adults, experienced very low food security in an estimated 86,000 to 111,000 households (0.22 to 0.28 percent of all U.S. households with children) during the same period.

Table 1B

Households with children, and children, by food security status of household, 1998-2008

With low or very low With very low food security among food security Total1 Food secure adults or children among children

1,000 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 PercentHouseholds with children:

2008 39,699 31,364 79.0 8,335 21.0 506 1.32007 39,390 33,160 84.2 6,230 15.8 323 0.82006 39,436 33,279 84.4 6,157 15.6 221 .62005 39,601 33,404 84.4 6,197 15.6 270 .72004 39,990 32,967 82.4 7,023 17.6 274 .72003 40,286 33,575 83.3 6,711 16.7 207 .52002 38,647 32,267 83.5 6,380 16.5 265 .72001 38,330 32,141 83.9 6,189 16.1 211 .62000 38,113 31,942 83.8 6,171 16.2 255 .71999 37,884 32,290 85.2 5,594 14.8 219 .61998 38,036 31,335 82.4 6,701 17.6 331 .9

Children (by food security status of household):2

2008 74,106 57,433 77.5 16,673 22.5 1,077 1.52007 73,575 61,140 83.1 12,435 16.9 691 .92006 73,587 60,959 82.8 12,628 17.2 430 .62005 73,604 61,201 83.1 12,403 16.9 606 .82004 73,039 59,171 81.0 13,868 19.0 545 .72003 72,969 59,704 81.8 13,265 18.2 420 .62002 72,542 59,415 81.9 13,127 18.1 567 .82001 72,321 59,620 82.4 12,701 17.6 467 .62000 71,763 58,867 82.0 12,896 18.0 562 .81999 71,418 59,344 83.1 12,074 16.9 511 .71998 71,282 57,255 80.3 14,027 19.7 716 1.0

1Totals exclude households whose food security status is unknown because they did not give a valid response to any of the questions in the food security scale. In 2008, these represented 120,000 households (0.3 percent of all households with children.)2The food security survey measures food security status at the household level. Not all children residing in food-insecure households were directly affected by the households’ food insecurity. Similarly, not all children in households classifi ed as having very low food security among children were subject to the reductions in food intake and disruptions in eating patterns that characterize this condition. Young children, in particular, are often protected from effects of the households’ food insecurity.

Sources: Calculated by ERS using data from the August 1998, April 1999, September 2000, December 2001, December 2002, December 2003, December 2004, December 2005, December 2006, December 2007, and December 2008 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplements.



The prevalence of food insecurity at all reported levels of severity increased from 2007 to 2008. The prevalence of food insecurity increased from 11.1 percent of households in 2007 to 14.6 percent in 2008. The prevalence of very low food security increased from 4.1 percent of households in 2007 to 5.7 percent in 2008. The prevalence of very low food security among children was up from 0.8 percent of households with children in 2007 to 1.3 percent in 2008.

The prevalences of both food insecurity overall and the more severe condi-tion, very low food security, were higher in 2008 than in any year since the fi rst nationally representative food security survey in 1995 (fi g. 2). Over the previous decade, food insecurity had increased from about 10 percent in 1999 to near 12 percent in 2004, then declined to 11 percent in 2005-07.7 The preva-lence of very low food security had increased from around 3 percent in 1999 to 4 percent in 2004, then remained essentially unchanged through 2007.

Prevalence of Food Insecurity—Conditions and Trends by Selected Household Characteristics

The prevalence of food insecurity varied considerably among households with different demographic and economic characteristics (table 2). Rates of food insecurity were well below the national average of 14.6 percent for households with more than one adult and no children (9.1 percent) and for households with elderly persons (8.1 percent).8 Rates of food insecurity substantially higher than the national average were registered by the following groups:

• households with incomes below the offi cial poverty line (42.2 percent)9

• households with children, headed by single women (37.2 percent) or single men (27.6 percent)

• Black households (25.7 percent)

• Hispanic households (26.9 percent).

7Because of changes in screening procedures used to reduce respondent burden, food security statistics from 1995-97 are not directly comparable with those from 1998-2008. Figure 2 presents statistics for the years 1995-2000, adjusted to be comparable across all years, as well as statistics for 1998-2008 based on data as collected. See Andrews et al. (2000) and Ohls et al. (2001) for detailed information about questionnaire screening and adjust-ments for comparability. From 1995-2000, the prevalence rates refl ected an overall decline in food insecurity but also a 2-year cyclical component that was associated with data collec-tion schedules (Cohen et al., 2002a). The CPS food security surveys over that period alternated between April in odd-numbered years and August or September in even-numbered years. The measured prevalence of food insecurity was higher in the August/September collections, suggesting a seasonal response effect. Since 2001, the survey has been conducted in early December, which avoids further prob-lems of seasonality effects in interpret-ing annual changes. A smaller food security survey was also conducted in April 2001 to provide a baseline for as-sessing seasonal effects of data collec-tion in December. Comparison of food security statistics from the April 2001 survey with those from April 1999 and December 2001 suggests that seasonal effects in early December were similar to those in April (Nord et al., 2002a).

9The Federal poverty line was $21,834 for a family of four in 2008.

8 “Elderly” in this report refers to persons ages 65 and older. .Figure 2

Trends in the prevalence of food insecurity in U.S. households,1995-2008

1Data as collected in 1995-97 are not directly comparable with data collected in 1998-2008.

Source: Calculated by ERS based on Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement data.

Percent of households

Food insecurity, data as collected (unadjusted)1

Food insecurity, adjusted for comparability in all years

Very low food security, data as collected (unadjusted)1

Very low food security, adjusted for comparability in all years

1995 97 99 2001 03 05 070

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16



When households experience very low food security in the United States, the resulting instances of reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns are usually occasional or episodic but are not usually chronic. The food security measurement methods used in this report are designed to register these occasional or episodic occurrences. The questions used to assess households’ food security status ask whether a condition, experience, or behavior occurred at any time in the past 12 months, and households can be classifi ed as having very low food security based on a single, severe episode during the year. It is important to keep this aspect of the scale in mind when interpreting food insecurity statistics. Analysis of additional information collected in the food security survey on how frequently various food-insecure conditions occurred during the year, whether they occurred during the 30 days prior to the survey, and, if so, in how many days, provide insight into the frequency and duration of food insecurity in U.S. households. These analyses reveal that in 2008:

• About one-fourth of the households with very low food security at any time during the year experienced the associated conditions rarely or occasionally—in only 1 or 2 months of the year. For three-fourths of households, the conditions were recurring, experienced in 3 or more months of the year.

• For about one-fourth of food-insecure households and one-third of those with very low food security, occurrence of the associated conditions was frequent or chronic. That is, the conditions occurred often, or in almost every month.

• On average, households that were food insecure at some time during the year were food insecure in 7 months during the year (see appendix D). During the 30-day period ending in mid-December 2008, 10.4 million households (8.8 percent of all households) were food insecure—about 60 percent of the number that were food insecure at any time during the year.

• On average, households with very low food security at some time during the year experienced the associated conditions in 7 or 8 months during the year (see appendix D). During the 30-day period ending in mid- December 2008, 4.2 million households (3.6 percent of all households) had very low food security—about 63 percent of the number with very low food security at some during the year.

• Most households that had very low food security at some time during a month experienced the associated

conditions in 1 to 7 days of the month. The average daily prevalence of very low food security during the 30-day period ending in mid-December 2008 was probably between 1.1 and 1.4 million households (0.9 to 1.2 percent of all households)—about 18 to 23 percent of the annual prevalence.

• The daily prevalence of very low food security among children during the 30-day period ending in early December 2008 was probably between 86,000 and 111,000 households (0.22 to 0.28 percent of households with children)—about 17 to 22 percent of the annual prevalence.

The omission of homeless families and individuals from these daily statistics biases the statistics downward, and the bias may be substantial relative to the estimates, especially for the most severe conditions.

(Appendix A provides information on how often conditions indicating food insecurity occurred, as reported by respondents to the December 2008 food security survey. See Nord et al., 2000, for more information about the frequency of food insecurity.)

When Food Insecurity Occurs in U.S. Households, It Is Usually Recurrent But Not Chronic

Prevalence of food insecurity and very low food security, by reference period

NA = Estimate of average daily occurrence of food insecurity not available.



Any time during year

Any time during30 days prior to survey

Estimateddaily average

NA

14.6

5.7

8.8

3.6

0.9 to1.2

Food insecurity

Very low food security



Table 2

Households by food security status and selected household characteristics, 2008

Food insecure

With low With very lowCategory Total1 Food secure All food security food security


All households 117,565 100,416 85.4 17,149 14.6 10,426 8.9 6,723 5.7

Household composition: With children < 18 yrs 39,699 31,364 79.0 8,335 21.0 5,718 14.4 2,617 6.6 With children < 6 yrs 17,503 13,595 77.7 3,908 22.3 2,818 16.1 1,090 6.2 Married-couple families 26,705 22,887 85.7 3,818 14.3 2,735 10.2 1,083 4.1 Female head, no spouse 9,639 6,057 62.8 3,582 37.2 2,296 23.8 1,286 13.3 Male head, no spouse 2,782 2,013 72.4 769 27.6 569 20.5 200 7.2 Other household with child2 572 405 70.8 167 29.2 118 20.6 49 8.6 With no children < 18 yrs 77,866 69,052 88.7 8,814 11.3 4,708 6.0 4,106 5.3 More than one adult 45,772 41,610 90.9 4,162 9.1 2,409 5.3 1,753 3.8 Women living alone 17,934 15,266 85.1 2,668 14.9 1,284 7.2 1,384 7.7 Men living alone 14,160 12,177 86.0 1,983 14.0 1,015 7.2 968 6.8 With elderly 28,211 25,927 91.9 2,284 8.1 1,402 5.0 882 3.1 Elderly living alone 11,148 10,168 91.2 980 8.8 552 5.0 428 3.8

Race/ethnicity of households: White non-Hispanic 82,935 74,041 89.3 8,894 10.7 5,154 6.2 3,740 4.5 Black non-Hispanic 14,441 10,732 74.3 3,709 25.7 2,251 15.6 1,458 10.1 Hispanic3 13,504 9,873 73.1 3,631 26.9 2,439 18.1 1,192 8.8 Other 6,686 5,772 86.3 914 13.7 582 8.7 332 5.0

Household income-to-poverty ratio: Under 1.00 13,117 7,576 57.8 5,541 42.2 3,014 23.0 2,527 19.3 Under 1.30 20,383 12,427 61.0 7,956 39.0 4,403 21.6 3,553 17.4 Under 1.85 29,680 19,622 66.1 10,058 33.9 5,731 19.3 4,327 14.6 1.85 and over 70,433 65,038 92.3 5,395 7.7 3,595 5.1 1,800 2.6 Income unknown 17,452 15,755 90.3 1,697 9.7 1,101 6.3 596 3.4

Area of residence:4

Inside metropolitan area 98,189 83,790 85.3 14,399 14.7 8,757 8.9 5,642 5.7 In principal cities5 32,808 27,006 82.3 5,802 17.7 3,634 11.1 2,168 6.6 Not in principal cities 48,239 42,125 87.3 6,114 12.7 3,650 7.6 2,464 5.1 Outside metropolitan area 19,375 16,625 85.8 2,750 14.2 1,669 8.6 1,081 5.6

Census geographic region: Northeast 21,341 18,616 87.2 2,725 12.8 1,610 7.5 1,115 5.2 Midwest 26,370 22,671 86.0 3,699 14.0 2,254 8.5 1,445 5.5 South 43,542 36,621 84.1 6,921 15.9 4,216 9.7 2,705 6.2 West 26,311 22,507 85.5 3,804 14.5 2,346 8.9 1,458 5.51Totals exclude households whose food security status is unknown because they did not give a valid response to any of the questions in the food security scale. In 2008, these represented 366,000 households (0.3 percent of all households.)2Households with children in complex living arrangements, e.g., children of other relatives or unrelated roommate or boarder.3Hispanics may be of any race.4Metropolitan area residence is based on the 2003 Offi ce of Management and Budget delineation. Prevalence rates by area of residence are comparable with those for 2004 and later years but are not precisely comparable with those of earlier years. 5Households within incorporated areas of the largest cities in each metropolitan area. Residence inside or outside of principal cities is not identi-fi ed for about 17 percent of households in metropolitan statistical areas.




Food insecurity was more prevalent among households with children (21.0 percent) than among those with no children (11.3 percent).10 Among house-holds with children, those headed by a married couple showed the lowest rate of food insecurity (14.3 percent).

Across the metropolitan area classifi cations, the prevalence of food insecurity was highest for households located in principal cities of metropolitan areas (17.7 percent), intermediate for those in nonmetropolitan areas (14.2 percent), and lowest in suburbs and other metropolitan areas outside principal cities (12.7 percent).11 Regionally, the prevalence of food insecurity was highest in the South (15.9 percent), intermediate in the West (14.5 percent) and Midwest (14.0 percent), and lowest in the Northeast (12.8 percent).

The prevalence rates of very low food security in various types of households followed a pattern similar to that observed for food insecurity. Rates were lowest for married couples with children (4.1 percent), multiple-adult house-holds with no children (3.8 percent), and households with elderly persons (3.1 percent). Very low food security was more prevalent than the national average (5.7 percent) for households with children headed by single women (13.3 percent), women living alone (7.7 percent), men living alone (6.8 percent), Black and Hispanic households (10.1 and 8.8 percent, respectively), households with incomes below the poverty line (19.3 percent), and house-holds located in principal cities of metropolitan areas (6.6 percent).

Very low food security among children was least prevalent in married-couple households, White non-Hispanic households, and households with incomes above 185 percent of the poverty line (table 3). Children in households headed by single women were more likely to experience very low food secu-rity, as were children in households headed by a Black or Hispanic person and those in households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty line.

The prevalence of food insecurity increased from 2007 to 2008 for all catego-ries of households analyzed (fi g. 3). Increases were largest for single parents with children (both men and women) and for Hispanic households. The prevalence of very low food security also increased from 2007 to 2008 for all categories of households except for single-male-headed households with chil-dren (fi g. 4). Among the households surveyed, this category, too, registered an increase, but the change was within a range that could have resulted from sampling variation. Increases in the prevalence of very low food security were largest for single-female-headed families with children and for house-holds with incomes below, or not far above, the poverty line.

Food Insecurity in Low-Income Households

Food insecurity is by defi nition a condition that results from insuffi cient household resources. In 2008, food insecurity was more than four times as prevalent in households with annual incomes below 185 percent of the poverty line as it was in households with incomes above that range (table 2). However, many factors that might affect a household’s food security (such as job loss, divorce, or other unexpected events) are not captured by an annual income measure. Some households experienced episodes of food insecurity, or even very low food security, even though their annual incomes were well above the poverty line (Nord and Brent, 2002; Gundersen and Gruber, 2001).

10About one-third of the difference in food insecurity between households with and without children results from a differ-ence in the measures applied to the two types of households. Responses to ques-tions about children as well as adults are considered in assessing the food security status of households with children, but for both types of households, a total of three indications of food insecurity is required for classifi cation as food insecure. Even with the child-referenced questions omit-ted from the scale, however, 17.9 percent of households with children would be classifi ed as food insecure (that is, as having food insecurity among adults), compared with 11.3 percent for house-holds without children. Comparisons of very low food security are not biased by this measurement issue because a higher threshold is applied to households with children consistent with the larger num-ber of questions taken into consideration.

11Revised metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and principal cities within them were delineated by the Offi ce of Management and Budget in 2003, based on revised standards developed by the U.S. Census Bureau in collabora-tion with other Federal agencies. Food security prevalence statistics by area of residence are comparable with those for 2004 and later years, but are not precisely comparable with those for earlier years. Principal cities include the incorporated areas of the largest city in each MSA and other cities in the MSA that meet specifi ed criteria based on population size and commuting patterns.



Table 3

Prevalence of food security and food insecurity in households with children by selected household characteristics, 2008

Households with very Food-secure Food-insecure low food securityCategory Total1 households households2 among children

1,000 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent

All households with children 39,699 31,364 79.0 8,335 21.0 506 1.3

Household composition: With children < 6 yrs 17,503 13,595 77.7 3,908 22.3 166 .9 Married-couple families 26,705 22,886 85.7 3,819 14.3 196 .7 Female head, no spouse 9,639 6,057 62.8 3,582 37.2 266 2.8 Male head, no spouse 2,782 2,014 72.4 768 27.6 31 1.1 Other household with child3 572 405 70.8 167 29.2 13 2.3

Race/ethnicity of households: White non-Hispanic 24,237 20,480 84.5 3,757 15.5 152 .6 Black non-Hispanic 5,613 3,825 68.1 1,788 31.9 146 2.6 Hispanic4 7,294 4,950 67.9 2,344 32.1 177 2.4 Other 2,554 2,108 82.5 446 17.5 31 1.2

Household income-to-poverty ratio: Under 1.00 5,975 2,968 49.7 3,007 50.3 244 4.1 Under 1.30 9,229 4,960 53.7 4,269 46.3 329 3.6 Under 1.85 12,586 7,271 57.8 5,315 42.2 385 3.1 1.85 and over 22,245 20,006 89.9 2,239 10.1 80 .4 Income unknown 4,867 4,085 83.9 782 16.1 41 .8

Area of residence:5

Inside metropolitan area 33,592 26,597 79.2 6,995 20.8 447 1.3 In principal cities6 10,614 7,834 73.8 2,780 26.2 166 1.6 Not in principal cities 17,288 14,246 82.4 3,042 17.6 211 1.2 Outside metropolitan area 6,107 4,766 78.0 1,341 22.0 59 1.0

Census geographic region: Northeast 7,132 5,787 81.1 1,345 18.9 89 1.2 Midwest 8,773 7,045 80.3 1,728 19.7 81 .9 South 14,393 11,064 76.9 3,329 23.1 175 1.2 West 9,400 7,466 79.4 1,934 20.6 161 1.7

Individuals in households with children: All individuals in households with children 160,524 126,394 78.7 34,130 21.3 2,263 1.4 Adults in households with children 86,418 68,961 79.8 17,457 20.2 1,186 1.4 Children 74,106 57,433 77.5 16,673 22.5 1,077 1.51Totals exclude households whose food security status is unknown because they did not give a valid response to any of the questions in the food security scale. In 2008, these represented 120,000 households with children (0.3 percent of all households with children.)2Food-insecure households are those with low or very low food security among adults or children.3Households with children in complex living arrangements, e.g., children of other relatives or unrelated roommate or boarder.4Hispanics may be of any race. 5Metropolitan area residence is based on the 2003 Offi ce of Management and Budget delineation. Prevalence rates by area of residence are comparable with those for 2004 and later years but are not precisely comparable with those of earlier years. 6Households within incorporated areas of the largest cities in each metropolitan area. Residence inside or outside of principal cities is not identi-fi ed for about 17 percent of households in metropolitan statistical areas.




Figure 3

Prevalence of food insecurity, 2007 and 2008

Source: Calculated by ERS based on Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement data, December 2007 and December 2008.


2008

2007

West

South

Midwest

Northeast

Census geographic region:

Outside metropolitan area

Not in principal cities

In principal cities

Inside metropolitan area

Area of residence:

1.85 and over

Under 1.85

Under 1.30

Under 1.00

Household income-to-poverty ratio:

Other

Hispanic

Black non-Hispanic

White non-Hispanic

Race/ethnicity of households:

Elderly living alone

With elderly

Men living alone

Women living alone

More than one adult

With no children < 18 yrs

Male head, no spouse

Female head, no spouse

Married-couple families

With children < 6 yrs


Household composition:

All households

50 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45



Figure 4

Prevalence of very low food security, 2007 and 2008

Source: Calculated by ERS based on Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement data, December 2007 and December 2008.


2008

2007

West

South

Midwest

Northeast

Census geographic region:

Outside metropolitan area

Not in principal cities

In principal cities

Inside metropolitan area

Area of residence:

1.85 and over

Under 1.85

Under 1.30

Under 1.00

Household income-to-poverty ratio:

Other

Hispanic

Black non-Hispanic

White non-Hispanic

Race/ethnicity of households:

Elderly living alone

With elderly

Men living alone

Women living alone

More than one adult

With no children < 18 yrs

Male head, no spouse

Female head, no spouse

Married-couple families



Household composition:

All households

20 864 10 12 14 16 18 20



On the other hand, many low-income households (including 58 percent of those with incomes below the offi cial poverty line) were food secure.

Table 4 presents food security statistics for households with annual incomes below 130 percent of the poverty line.12 Thirty-nine percent of these low-income households were food insecure, including 17.4 percent that had very low food security at times during the year. Low-income households with children were more likely to be food insecure than low-income households without children (46.3 percent vs. 33.1 percent), but were no more likely to have very low food security (16.6 percent vs. 18.1 percent). Low-income single-parent households with children were especially vulnerable to food insecurity (50.3 percent for those headed by single women and 48.6 percent for those headed by single men).

Number of Persons, by Household Food Security Status and Selected Household Characteristics

The food security survey is designed to measure food security status at the household level. While it is informative to examine the number of persons residing in food-insecure households, these statistics should be interpreted carefully. In a single food-insecure household, different house-hold members may have been affected differently by the households’ food insecurity. Some members—particularly young children—may have expe-rienced only mild effects or none at all, while adults were more severely affected. It is more precise, therefore, to describe these statistics as repre-senting “persons living in food-insecure households” rather than as repre-senting “food-insecure persons.” Similarly, “persons living in households with very low food security” is a more precise description than “persons with very low food security.”

In 2008, 49.1 million people lived in food-insecure households (table 1A). They constituted 16.4 percent of the U.S. civilian noninstitutional-ized population and included 32.4 million adults and 16.7 million children. Of these individuals, 12.1 million adults and 5.2 million children lived in households with very low food security, and 1.1 million children (1.5 percent of U.S. children) lived in households with very low food security among children (table 1B). Tables 5 and 6 present estimates of the number of people and the number of children in the households in each food secu-rity status and household type.

Prevalence of Food Insecurity by State

The prevalence of food insecurity varied considerably from State to State. Data for 3 years, 2006-08, were combined to provide more reliable statistics at the State level (table 7). Estimated prevalence rates of food insecurity during this 3-year period ranged from 6.9 percent in North Dakota to 17.4 percent in Mississippi; estimated prevalence rates of very low food security ranged from 2.6 percent in North Dakota to 7.4 percent in Mississippi.

The margin of error for the State prevalence rates should be taken into consideration when interpreting these statistics and especially when comparing prevalence rates across States. The margin of error refl ects

12Households with income below 130 percent of the poverty line are eligible to receive SNAP benefi ts, provided they meet other eligibility criteria. Children in these households are eligible for free meals in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.



Table 4

Households with income below 130 percent of the poverty line by food security status and selected household characteristics, 2008

Food insecure

With low With very lowCategory Total1 Food secure All food security food security


All low-income households 20,383 12,427 61.0 7,956 39.0 4,403 21.6 3,553 17.4

Household composition: With children < 18 yrs 9,229 4,960 53.7 4,269 46.3 2,738 29.7 1,531 16.6 With children < 6 yrs 4,900 2,689 54.9 2,211 45.1 1,513 30.9 698 14.2 Married-couple families 3,766 2,223 59.0 1,543 41.0 1,057 28.1 486 12.9 Female head, no spouse 4,425 2,200 49.7 2,225 50.3 1,347 30.4 878 19.8 Male head, no spouse 840 432 51.4 408 48.6 278 33.1 130 15.5 Other household with child2 197 104 52.8 93 47.2 56 28.4 37 18.8 With no children < 18 yrs 11,154 7,467 66.9 3,687 33.1 1,665 14.9 2,022 18.1 More than one adult 4,208 2,813 66.8 1,395 33.2 687 16.3 708 16.8 Women living alone 4,206 2,823 67.1 1,383 32.9 573 13.6 810 19.3 Men living alone 2,740 1,830 66.8 910 33.2 406 14.8 504 18.4 With elderly 4,315 3,361 77.9 954 22.1 531 12.3 423 9.8 Elderly living alone 2,465 1,972 80.0 493 20.0 243 9.9 250 10.1

Race/ethnicity of households: White non-Hispanic 10,182 6,707 65.9 3,475 34.1 1,710 16.8 1,765 17.3 Black non-Hispanic 4,455 2,396 53.8 2,059 46.2 1,167 26.2 892 20.0 Hispanic3 4,596 2,604 56.7 1,992 43.3 1,294 28.2 698 15.2 Other 1,149 719 62.6 430 37.4 233 20.3 197 17.1

Area of residence:4

Inside metropolitan area 16,199 9,705 59.9 6,494 40.1 3,617 22.3 2,877 17.8 In principal cities5 7,030 4,019 57.2 3,011 42.8 1,762 25.1 1,249 17.8 Not in principal cities 6,055 3,789 62.6 2,266 37.4 1,192 19.7 1,074 17.7 Outside metropolitan area 4,184 2,721 65.0 1,463 35.0 787 18.8 676 16.2

Census geographic region: Northeast 3,241 2,059 63.5 1,182 36.5 615 19.0 567 17.5 Midwest 4,303 2,581 60.0 1,722 40.0 952 22.1 770 17.9 South 8,510 5,105 60.0 3,405 40.0 1,921 22.6 1,484 17.4 West 4,329 2,681 61.9 1,648 38.1 916 21.2 732 16.9

Individuals in low-income households (by food security status of household): All individuals in low-income households 56,265 32,341 57.5 23,924 42.5 14,447 25.7 9,477 16.8 Adults in low-income households 36,196 21,750 60.1 14,446 39.9 8,241 22.8 6,205 17.1 Children in low-income households 20,069 10,592 52.8 9,477 47.2 6,206 30.9 3,271 16.31Totals exclude households whose income was not reported (about 15 percent of households), and those whose food security status is unknown because they did not give a valid response to any of the questions in the food security scale (0.7 percent of low-income households).2Households with children in complex living arrangements, e.g., children of other relatives or unrelated roommate or boarder.3Hispanics may be of any race. 4Metropolitan area residence is based on the 2003 Offi ce of Management and Budget delineation. Prevalence rates by area of residence are comparable with those for 2004 and later years but are not precisely comparable with those of earlier years. 5Households within incorporated areas of the largest cities in each metropolitan area. Residence inside or outside of principal cities is not identi-fi ed for about 19 percent of low-income households in metropolitan statistical areas.




Table 5

Number of individuals by food security status of households and selected household characteristics, 2008

In food-insecure households

In households In food-secure In households with with very lowCategory Total1 households All low food security food security


All individuals in households 299,567 250,459 83.6 49,108 16.4 31,824 10.6 17,284 5.8

Household composition: With children < 18 yrs 160,524 126,394 78.7 34,130 21.3 23,549 14.7 10,581 6.6 With children < 6 yrs 75,300 57,646 76.6 17,654 23.4 12,795 17.0 4,859 6.5 Married-couple families 115,058 97,333 84.6 17,725 15.4 12,831 11.2 4,894 4.3 Female head, no spouse 33,681 20,726 61.5 12,955 38.5 8,212 24.4 4,743 14.1 Male head, no spouse 9,629 6,860 71.2 2,769 28.8 2,015 20.9 754 7.8 Other household with child2 2,155 1,474 68.4 681 31.6 491 22.8 190 8.8 With no children < 18 yrs 139,043 124,064 89.2 14,979 10.8 8,276 6.0 6,703 4.8 More than one adult 106,948 96,620 90.3 10,328 9.7 5,977 5.6 4,351 4.1 Women living alone 17,934 15,266 85.1 2,668 14.9 1,284 7.2 1,384 7.7 Men living alone 14,160 12,177 86.0 1,983 14.0 1,015 7.2 968 6.8 With elderly 54,468 49,301 90.5 5,167 9.5 3,396 6.2 1,771 3.3 Elderly living alone 11,148 10,168 91.2 980 8.8 552 5.0 428 3.8

Race/ethnicity of households: White non-Hispanic 199,282 176,212 88.4 23,070 11.6 14,239 7.1 8,831 4.4 Black non-Hispanic 36,722 26,723 72.8 9,999 27.2 6,403 17.4 3,596 9.8 Hispanic3 44,820 31,653 70.6 13,167 29.4 9,212 20.6 3,955 8.8 Other 18,742 15,870 84.7 2,872 15.3 1,970 10.5 902 4.8

Household income-to-poverty ratio: Under 1.00 36,647 19,752 53.9 16,895 46.1 10,050 27.4 6,845 18.7 Under 1.30 56,265 32,341 57.5 23,924 42.5 14,447 25.7 9,477 16.8 Under 1.85 80,823 50,509 62.5 30,314 37.5 18,728 23.2 11,586 14.3 1.85 and over 175,935 161,887 92.0 14,048 8.0 9,810 5.6 4,238 2.4 Income unknown 42,809 38,061 88.9 4,748 11.1 3,287 7.7 1,461 3.4

Area of residence:4

Inside metropolitan area 251,869 210,500 83.6 41,369 16.4 26,822 10.6 14,547 5.8 In principal cities5 81,111 64,627 79.7 16,484 20.3 11,039 13.6 5,445 6.7 Not in principal cities 128,278 110,238 85.9 18,040 14.1 11,487 9.0 6,553 5.1 Outside metropolitan area 47,698 39,959 83.8 7,739 16.2 5,002 10.5 2,737 5.7

Census geographic region: Northeast 53,859 46,354 86.1 7,505 13.9 4,700 8.7 2,805 5.2 Midwest 65,640 55,599 84.7 10,041 15.3 6,551 10.0 3,490 5.3 South 110,029 90,382 82.1 19,647 17.9 12,879 11.7 6,768 6.2 West 70,039 58,122 83.0 11,917 17.0 7,695 11.0 4,222 6.01Totals exclude individuals in households whose food security status is unknown because they did not give a valid response to any of the ques-tions in the food security scale. In 2008, these represented 893,000 individuals (0.3 percent of all individuals.)2Households with children in complex living arrangements, e.g., children of other relatives or unrelated roommate or boarder.3Hispanics may be of any race. 4Metropolitan area residence is based on the 2003 Offi ce of Management and Budget delineation. Prevalence rates by area of residence are comparable with those for 2004 and later years but are not precisely comparable with those of earlier years. 5Households within incorporated areas of the largest cities in each metropolitan area. Residence inside or outside of principal cities is not identi-fi ed for about 17 percent of individuals living in metropolitan statistical areas.




Table 6

Number of children by food security status of households and selected household characteristics, 2008

In households with very low In food-secure In food-insecure food securityCategory Total1 households households2 among children

1,000 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent 1,000 Percent

All children 74,106 57,433 77.5 16,673 22.5 1,077 1.5

Household composition: With children < 6 yrs 37,467 28,303 75.5 9,164 24.5 456 1.2 Married-couple families 51,457 43,346 84.2 8,111 15.8 421 0.8 Female head, no spouse 17,508 10,516 60.1 6,992 39.9 554 3.2 Male head, no spouse 4,305 3,012 70.0 1,293 30.0 84 2.0 Other household with child3 836 559 66.9 277 33.1 19 2.3

Race/ethnicity of households: White non-Hispanic 43,900 36,874 84.0 7,026 16.0 271 0.6 Black non-Hispanic 10,998 7,260 66.0 3,738 34.0 351 3.2 Hispanic4 14,679 9,705 66.1 4,974 33.9 400 2.7 Other 4,530 3,597 79.4 933 20.6 54 1.2

Household income-to-poverty ratio: Under 1.00 13,331 6,465 48.5 6,866 51.5 570 4.3 Under 1.30 20,069 10,592 52.8 9,477 47.2 760 3.8 Under 1.85 26,926 15,386 57.1 11,540 42.9 872 3.2 1.85 and over 38,193 34,438 90.2 3,755 9.8 120 0.3 Income unknown 8,987 7,609 84.7 1,378 15.3 85 0.9

Area of residence:5

Inside metropolitan area 62,532 48,583 77.7 13,949 22.3 922 1.5 In principal cities6 20,294 14,529 71.6 5,765 28.4 344 1.7 Not in principal cities 31,826 25,910 81.4 5,916 18.6 445 1.4 Outside metropolitan area 11,574 8,851 76.5 2,723 23.5 155 1.3

Census geographic region: Northeast 12,319 9,893 80.3 2,426 19.7 166 1.3 Midwest 16,192 12,779 78.9 3,413 21.1 175 1.1 South 27,686 20,964 75.7 6,722 24.3 364 1.3 West 17,909 13,797 77.0 4,112 23.0 372 2.11Totals exclude children in households whose food security status is unknown because they did not give a valid response to any of the questions in the food security scale. In 2008, these represented 221,000 children (0.3 percent.)2Food-insecure households are those with low or very low food security among adults or children.3Households with children in complex living arrangements, e.g., children of other relatives or unrelated roommate or boarder.4Hispanics may be of any race. 5Metropolitan area residence is based on the 2003 Offi ce of Management and Budget delineation. Prevalence rates by area of residence are comparable with those for 2004 and later years, but are not precisely comparable with those of earlier years. 6Households within incorporated areas of the largest cities in each metropolitan area. Residence inside or outside of principal cities is not identi-fi ed for about 17 percent of children living in metropolitan statistical areas.




sampling variation—the uncertainty associated with estimates that are based on information from a limited number of households in each State. The margins of error presented in table 7 indicate the range (above or below the estimated prevalence rate) within which the true prevalence rate is 90 percent likely to fall. For example, considering the margins of error, it is not certain that the prevalence of very low food security was higher in Mississippi than in the States with the next fi ve highest prevalence rates.

Taking into account margins of error of the State and U.S. estimates, the prevalence of food insecurity was higher (i.e., statistically signifi cantly higher) than the national average in 10 States and lower than the national average in 14 States. In the remaining 26 States and the District of Colombia, differences from the national average were not statistically signifi cant. The prevalence of very low food security was higher than the national average in 8 States, lower than the national average in 9 States, and not signifi cantly different from the national average in 33 States and the District of Columbia.

State-level prevalence rates of food insecurity and very low food security for the period 2006-08 are compared with 3-year average rates for 2003-05 and 1996-98 in table 8. The prevalence rates for 2006-08 are repeated from table 7. The prevalence rates for the two earlier periods were reported previ-ously in Household Food Security in the United States, 2005 (Nord et al., 2006). The 1996-98 statistics presented here and in Household Food Security in the United States, 2005 were revised from those reported in Prevalence of Food Insecurity and Hunger, by State, 1996-1998 (Nord et al., 1999) to adjust for differences in data collection procedures in the two periods.13 They are presented as a baseline to assess longer term changes in State-level food security conditions.14

In four States—Idaho, South Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming—prevalence rates of food insecurity declined from 2003-05 to 2006-08 by statisti-cally signifi cant percentages. The largest declines were in Idaho and Utah. Prevalence rates increased by statistically signifi cant percentages in 13 States, with the largest increases observed in Nevada and West Virginia. During the same period, the prevalence of very low food security declined by a statistically signifi cant percentage only in Wyoming, while increasing in 23 States. The largest increases were in Mississippi and Oregon. Changes not marked as statistically signifi cant in table 8 were within ranges that could have resulted from sampling variation (that is, by the interviewed households not precisely representing all households in the State).

13To reduce the burden on survey respondents, households—especially those with higher incomes—that report no indication of any food access problems on two or three “screener” questions are not asked the questions in the food security module. They are classifi ed as food secure. Screening procedures in the CPS food security surveys were modifi ed from year to year prior to 1998 to achieve an ac-ceptable balance between accuracy and respondent burden. Since 1998, screening procedures have remained unchanged. The older, more restrictive screening procedures depressed preva-lence estimates—especially for food insecurity—compared with those in use since 1998 because a small propor-tion of food-insecure households were screened out along with those that were food secure. To provide an appropriate baseline for assessing changes in State prevalence rates of food insecurity, statistics from the 1996-98 report were adjusted upward to offset the estimated the effects of the earlier screening procedures on each States’ prevalence rates. The method used to calculate these adjustments was described in de-tail in Household Food Security in the United States, 2001 (Nord et al., 2002), appendix D.

14Seasonal effects on food security measurement (see fi g. 2) probably bias prevalence rates for 1996-98 upward somewhat compared with 2003-05 and 2006-08. At the national level, this effect may have raised the measured prevalence rate of food insecurity in 1996-98 by about 0.8 percentage point and the prevalence rate of very low food security by about 0.4 percentage point. However, seasonal effects may have differed from State to State.



Table 7

Prevalence of household-level food insecurity and very low food security by State, average 2006-081

Food insecurity Number of households (low or very low food security) Very low food security Average State 2006-082 Interviewed Prevalence Margin of error3 Prevalence Margin of error3

Number Number Percent Percentage points Percent Percentage pointsU.S. 116,758,000 124,307 12.2 0.25 4.6 0.18AK 247,000 1,586 11.6 1.66 4.4 1.31AL 1,873,000 1,398 13.3 1.66 5.4 1.02AR 1,149,000 1,432 15.9* 3.19 5.6 1.50AZ 2,496,000 1,542 13.2 1.51 4.9 .84CA 12,882,000 9,176 12.0 .74 4.3 .48CO 1,949,000 2,721 11.6 1.13 5.0 .67CT 1,388,000 2,601 11.0 1.53 4.1 1.07DC 277,000 1,917 12.4 1.15 4.2 .73DE 338,000 1,887 9.4* .98 3.7* .73FL 7,463,000 5,029 12.2 .64 4.9 .48GA 3,670,000 2,627 14.2* 1.10 5.4* .66HI 452,000 1,744 9.1* 1.17 3.0* .77IA 1,233,000 2,554 11.6 1.15 4.8 .93ID 547,000 1,437 11.4 1.37 3.9 .75IL 4,930,000 3,702 11.1 1.27 4.1 .51IN 2,483,000 2,029 11.2 1.49 4.3 1.04KS 1,143,000 1,955 13.8* 1.09 4.8 1.09KY 1,663,000 1,881 12.6 1.49 4.4 .80LA 1,647,000 1,167 11.0 1.62 3.7 1.16MA 2,484,000 1,891 8.3* 1.04 3.8 .96MD 2,149,000 2,922 9.6* .82 3.4* .46ME 541,000 2,566 13.7* 1.15 6.4* .98MI 3,973,000 2,952 12.0 1.45 4.4 .85MN 2,110,000 3,169 10.3* .92 4.1 .77MO 2,421,000 2,230 14.0* 1.31 5.8* .97MS 1,149,000 1,207 17.4* 2.22 7.4* 1.40MT 426,000 1,481 10.9* 1.25 4.4 .76NC 3,580,000 2,597 13.7* 1.38 4.4 .66ND 272,000 1,776 6.9* .93 2.6* .65NE 710,000 1,948 10.4* 1.06 4.0 .72NH 518,000 2,729 8.5* .83 3.1* .66NJ 3,148,000 2,292 10.3* .97 3.4* .84NM 761,000 1,165 14.1* 1.74 4.6 .92NV 984,000 1,957 12.4 1.67 4.6 .99NY 7,596,000 4,844 11.3 .95 4.3 .46OH 4,567,000 3,523 13.3 1.22 5.2 .62OK 1,414,000 1,648 14.0* 1.41 5.9* .81OR 1,498,000 1,733 13.1 1.55 6.6* 1.14PA 4,970,000 3,835 11.2 .98 4.2 .47RI 427,000 2,097 11.7 1.44 4.2 .55SC 1,795,000 1,827 13.1 1.24 5.2 .91SD 325,000 2,111 10.3* 1.72 4.1 1.06TN 2,520,000 1,733 13.5 2.00 4.6 .93TX 8,646,000 5,904 16.3* 1.08 5.7* .56UT 861,000 1,308 11.2 1.88 4.5 1.13VA 2,966,000 2,608 8.6* 1.25 3.3* .68VT 261,000 1,837 12.1 1.63 5.7* 1.09WA 2,599,000 2,151 11.1 1.72 4.3 .56WI 2,312,000 2,574 10.1* .72 3.7* .42WV 727,000 1,521 12.0 2.03 4.5 1.10WY 221,000 1,786 9.2* 1.44 2.9* .81

*Difference from U.S. average was statistically signifi cant with 90 percent confi dence (t > 1.645).1Prevalence rates for 1996-98 reported in Prevalence of Food Insecurity and Hunger, by State, 1996-1998 (Nord et al., 1999) are not directly com-parable with the rates reported here because of differences in screening procedures in the CPS Food Security Supplements from 1995 to 1998. Comparable statistics for the earlier period are presented in table 8.2Totals exclude households whose food security status is unknown because they did not give a valid response to any of the questions in the food security scale. These represented about 0.3 percent of all households in each year.3Margin of error with 90 percent confi dence (1.645 times the standard error of the estimated prevalence rate).

Source: Prepared by ERS using data from the December 2006, December 2007, and December 2008 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplements.



Table 8

Prevalence of household-level food insecurity and very low food security by State, 1996-98 (average), 2003-05 (average), and 2006-08 (average)1

Food insecurity (low or very low food security) Very low food security

Change Change Change Change 2003-05 1996-98 2003-05 1996-98 Average Average Average to to Average Average Average to toState 2006-08 2003-05 1996-981 2006-08 2006-08 2006-08 2003-05 1996-981 2006-08 2006-08

————— Percent ————— Percentage points ————— Percent ————— Percentage points

U.S. 12.2 11.4 11.3 0.8* 0.9* 4.6 3.8 3.7 0.8* 0.9*AK 11.6 12.2 8.7 -.6 2.9* 4.4 4.9 3.6 -.5 .8AL 13.3 12.3 12.5 1.0 .8 5.4 3.4 3.3 2.0* 2.1*AR 15.9 14.7 13.7 1.2 2.2 5.6 5.6 4.8 0.0 .8AZ 13.2 12.2 14.6 1.0 -1.4 4.9 3.8 4.3 1.1* .6CA 12.0 11.7 13.3 .3 -1.3* 4.3 3.6 4.3 .7* 0.0CO 11.6 12.0 10.8 -.4 .8 5.0 3.9 3.8 1.1* 1.2*CT 11.0 8.2 11.0 2.8* 0.0 4.1 2.6 4.1 1.5* 0.0DC 12.4 11.4 13.7 1.0 -1.3 4.2 3.8 4.7 .4 -.5DE 9.4 6.6 8.1 2.8* 1.3 3.7 1.9 2.9 1.8* .8FL 12.2 9.4 13.2 2.8* -1.0 4.9 3.5 4.5 1.4* .4GA 14.2 12.4 10.9 1.8* 3.3* 5.4 5.1 3.4 .3 2.0*HI 9.1 7.8 12.9 1.3 -3.8* 3.0 2.8 3.1 .2 -.1IA 11.6 10.9 8.0 .7 3.6* 4.8 3.5 2.6 1.3* 2.2*ID 11.4 14.1 11.3 -2.7* .1 3.9 3.7 3.3 .2 .6IL 11.1 9.1 9.6 2.0* 1.5* 4.1 3.2 3.2 .9* .9*IN 11.2 11.1 9.0 .1 2.2 4.3 4.1 2.9 .2 1.4*KS 13.8 12.3 11.5 1.5 2.3* 4.8 4.6 4.2 .2 .6KY 12.6 12.8 9.7 -.2 2.9* 4.4 4.2 3.4 .2 1.0*LA 11.0 12.8 14.4 -1.8 -3.4* 3.7 3.6 4.4 .1 -.7MA 8.3 7.8 7.5 .5 .8 3.8 3.0 2.1 .8 1.7*MD 9.6 9.4 8.7 .2 .9 3.4 3.6 3.3 -.2 .1ME 13.7 12.3 9.8 1.4 3.9* 6.4 4.6 4.0 1.8* 2.4*MI 12.0 11.5 9.6 .5 2.4* 4.4 4.1 3.1 .3 1.3*MN 10.3 7.7 8.6 2.6* 1.7* 4.1 3.0 3.1 1.1* 1.0*MO 14.0 11.7 10.1 2.3* 3.9* 5.8 4.0 3.0 1.8* 2.8*MS 17.4 16.5 14.6 .9 2.8 7.4 4.4 4.2 3.0* 3.2*MT 10.9 11.2 11.2 -.3 -.3 4.4 4.6 3.0 -.2 1.4*NC 13.7 13.2 9.8 .5 3.9* 4.4 4.5 2.7 -.1 1.7*ND 6.9 6.4 5.5 .5 1.4* 2.6 2.2 1.6 .4 1.0*NE 10.4 10.3 8.7 .1 1.7* 4.0 4.0 2.5 0.0 1.5*NH 8.5 6.5 8.6 2.0* -.1 3.1 2.2 3.1 .9 0.0NJ 10.3 8.1 8.9 2.2* 1.4* 3.4 2.6 3.1 .8 .3NM 14.1 16.8 16.5 -2.7 -2.4* 4.6 5.7 4.8 -1.1 -.2NV 12.4 8.4 10.4 4.0* 2.0 4.6 3.0 4.0 1.6* .6NY 11.3 10.4 11.9 .9 -.6 4.3 3.1 4.1 1.2* .2OH 13.3 12.6 9.7 .7 3.6* 5.2 3.8 3.5 1.4* 1.7*OK 14.0 14.6 13.1 -.6 .9 5.9 4.8 4.2 1.1* 1.7*OR 13.1 11.9 14.2 1.2 -1.1 6.6 3.9 6.0 2.7* .6PA 11.2 9.8 8.3 1.4* 2.9* 4.2 2.9 2.6 1.3* 1.6*RI 11.7 12.4 10.2 -.7 1.5 4.2 4.1 2.7 .1 1.5*SC 13.1 15.5 11.0 -2.4* 2.1* 5.2 6.3 3.5 -1.1 1.7*SD 10.3 9.5 8.2 .8 2.1* 4.1 3.2 2.2 .9 1.9*TN 13.5 13.0 11.8 .5 1.7 4.6 4.2 4.4 .4 .2TX 16.3 16.0 15.2 .3 1.1* 5.7 5.1 5.5 .6* .2UT 11.2 14.5 10.3 -3.3* .9 4.5 5.1 3.1 -.6 1.4VA 8.6 8.4 10.2 .2 -1.6 3.3 2.7 3.0 .6 .3VT 12.1 9.5 8.8 2.6* 3.3* 5.7 3.9 2.7 1.8* 3.0*WA 11.1 11.2 13.2 -.1 -2.1 4.3 3.9 4.7 .4 -.4WI 10.1 9.5 8.5 .6 1.6* 3.7 2.7 2.6 1.0* 1.1*WV 12.0 8.9 9.5 3.1* 2.5 4.5 3.0 3.1 1.5* 1.4*WY 9.2 11.1 9.9 -1.9* -.7 2.9 4.1 3.5 -1.2* -.6

*Change was statistically signifi cant with 90 percent confi dence (t > 1.645).1 Statistics for 1996-98 were revised to account for changes in survey screening procedures introduced in 1998.

Source: Prepared by ERS based on Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement data.



Household Spending on Food

This section provides information on how much households spent on food, as reported in the December 2008 food security survey. Food insecurity is a condition that arises from lack of money and other resources to acquire food. In most households, the majority of food consumed by hou

Household Food Security in the United States, 2008...iv Household Food Security in the United States, 2008 / ERR-83 Economic Research Service/USDA households (1.3 percent of households

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